


Troublemakers

by blackgoliath



Series: Did Someone Say Playground AU [3]
Category: Marvel (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Children, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-08
Updated: 2013-05-08
Packaged: 2017-12-10 19:47:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/789476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackgoliath/pseuds/blackgoliath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Playground AU: in which Johnny brings Peter along with him when he sneaks into the 3rd grader's lunch period, and Peter makes a new friend</p>
            </blockquote>





	Troublemakers

"Johnny," Peter whispered, clutching the back of his best friend's shirt as they snuck into the cafeteria. "We're not supposed to be here, Mr. Fury's gonna be really mad--"

"Come on, Petey, it'll be fine!" Johnny grinned before peeking around the corner. There was one lunch aide who he knew was looking out for him, and he had to make sure she was out of his line of sight before they went any further. He was the hero of one of his video games as he watched her round one of the cafeteria tables, her back to them while she scanned the cafeteria for signs of trouble, the perfect opportunity for Johnny to jolt forward and drag Peter along with him. Johnny made a beeline straight for the table where his sister Sue and her friends Reed and Ben sat, Peter stumbling along behind him, trying to keep up while still looking around at everyone who was eating lunch.

"Third graders," Peter breathed in awe.

"They're not that great. Ben and Sue're the only cool ones around. And watch out for that Namor guy; if you look at him funny he'll push you on the ground."

Peter nodded and curled his fingers deeper into the fabric of Johnny's shirt. He wanted to meet Johnny's older friends, he really did, but as soon as he saw the little boy with the red hair and red sunglasses sitting alone two tables away from Sue and Ben, Peter let go of Johnny's shirt and hesitantly took the seat across from the kid.

"Hi," he said, face splitting with a friendly smile. "My name's Peter. Who're you? Your glasses are cool. My teacher doesn't let me wear sunglasses in school. I told him I was gonna be a cool cop like Eddie Murphy but he wouldn't believe me! How come you can wear your glasses? Did I say they were cool yet? I'm only seven. How old are you?" Peter's feet swung in his excitement at making a new friend, his legs still too short to extend all the way to the floor. The red-haired boy smiled.

"My name's Matt." He took a long sip from his chocolate milk. "Are you in the third grade? I've never seen you before."

"No, I'm not," Peter replied guiltily. "My friend Johnny made me come with him. He sneaks in here all the time; Mr. Fury doesn't like it very much!"

"Mr. Fury doesn't like a lot of things very much." Matt held out his bag of sun chips. "Would you like one?" Peter hesitated, partly because he was still full from his lunch (which he and Johnny had had only a period before) but he was never one to turn down food. He smiled and nodded and took a chip, pushing the salty snack into his mouth and chewing happily. 

"Fanks!" Peter said around a mouthful of chip. "How come you're sitting all by yourself? Don't you have any friends? Can I try on your glasses?" He stood up in his seat and leaned forward and saw something long and white and red resting on the bench next to Matt. "What's that?"

"My cane. I need it to see."

"How come?"

Matt smiled again, but this time it was kind of sad. "I'm blind. That's why I get to wear these glasses."

"Oh." Peter fidgeted, scooting his butt along the bench. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Matt picked up his cane, leaning it against the bench on his other side. He patted the empty space next to him. "You can try on my glasses, but only if you sit by me." 

"Okay!" Peter got up, stumbling over his untied shoelaces (a habit he'd picked up from Johnny) and circled around to the other side of the table. He didn't think about whether or not Johnny was wondering where he'd gone; whenever Johnny was around Sue and Reed and Ben he sometimes forgot about Peter anyway. So Peter didn't feel bad about plopping down beside Matt, scootching right up next to him and holding his hands out eagerly for the glasses, which he soon received. He was so excited about putting them on that he didn't stare at the milky whiteness that covered Matt's irises, something he probably would have done on any other occasion.

"Whoa! These are so cool!" Peter put the glasses on and looked around. "Everything's red!"

"I'm glad you like them."

"Do I! I wish I had glasses like this!" And then he remembered that Matt had them because he was blind and Peter took the glasses off and held them back out to Matt. "I'm sorry, I'm being a butthead."

"No, you're okay." Matt took the glasses and put them back on. "You're not being a butthead."

"Okay." Peter tried to hold it in, he was young yet but he knew (for the most part) when a question was rude, but he couldn't stop himself. "How come you're sitting all alone?"

Matt shrugged and scootched a little closer to Peter. It made Peter's stomach feel all wiggly and he fidgeted some more. "Sometimes I like to sit by myself. Don't you ever feel like doing that?"

"Nope. I like to sit with Johnny and Maya and MJ and Gwen and Harry and sometimes this big boy named Quentin sits with us but he's not very nice." Peter leaned toward Matt and said in a conspiratory whisper, "I think he failed. He's kinda old. Maybe nine." Matt laughed.

"Maybe he just likes sitting with you."

Peter wrinkled his nose. "But all he does is these lame magic tricks and then gets mad when we don't like it!"

"So maybe he just wants you to like him." Matt shrugged and bumped his shoulder against Peter's. "Maybe he thinks you're fun. I do."

"Yeah?" Peter's legs swung faster. "Maybe." He looked up when he heard some commotion over near where Johnny was, and there was the aide Johnny had been looking out for, her finger pointing straight at Johnny as she scolded him for sneaking into the third grade lunch. Peter swallowed; his best friend was caught and he knew he'd be next. He hopped up quickly and waved at Matt.

"Sorry, I hafta go before I get in trouble!" He ran around the edge of the table, trying to catch up with Johnny as his blond friend was led out of the cafeteria by the aide, and he was just leaving the cafeteria when he heard Matt yell, "Come sit with me tomorrow!" 

Peter wasn't a troublemaker; he liked doing what he was told and following the rules and getting nice words from the teacher, but sometimes when he stuck around Johnny they'd break those rules, and this time, Peter decided as he ran up beside Johnny and stared at the floor under the stern voice of the aide, maybe he'd come back whether or not Johnny did. He glanced back at the table with the blind red-haired boy and decided that maybe he'd come back tomorrow anyway, even if Johnny didn't. Maybe this time he'd come by himself and sit with Matt. He broke into a little skip as they walked up the hall to Mr. Fury's room and Peter thought that maybe sometimes breaking the rules wasn't so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: you know the drill


End file.
